Chapter 18: Shadow of the Valkyrur (Pt.1)
Also known as "Showdown at Randgriz", this is the penultimate chapter at Valkyria Chronicles. Valkof | vehicles = Marmota | officers = None | aces = None }} Story Elated with their victory over the famed general Jaeger, the militia was preparing to continue their journey to the capital when Captain Eleanor Varrot reported that the Marmota had reached Randgriz. After tearing through the main gates of Randgriz, Marmota barely took note of the military force guarding Randgriz as it drove directly into Randgriz Castle without stopping. With a giant hole where the main entrance once stood, the capital city of Gallia had fallen into Imperial hands. Walking into the throne room of Randgriz Castle, Maximilian declared his intention to use the power of the ancient "Valkyrur Holy Lance" kept at the castle to rule the entire continent. He also announced his plans to take Princess Cordelia as his wife to continue the Valkyrur bloodline of the Randgriz household to further solidify his position as ruler. Upon hearing Maximilian's plans for the future, Cordellia revealed the truth about the Randgriz household, and the fact that she was a Darcsen. With the powerful Holy Lance within his grasp, however, Maximilian did not seem overly concerned about Princess Cordelia's true identity. Instead, he merely repeated his offer saying, "If you wish to protect Gallia, you will become my queen." Chaos had broken out around Faldio's cell, and when he inquired about the commotion, one of the guards told him about the Imperial occupation of Randgriz Castle. Knowing that Maximilian's objective was no doubt the Valkyrur Holy Lance, Faldio lured the guard into his cell. Faldio hurriedly departed for Randgriz Castle after escaping from his cell by strangling the unfortunate guard. Outside Randgriz, the militia was holding a quick briefing before moving in on the capital city. Captain Eleanor Varrot was concerned over her troops' morale, considering the bleak circumstances, but they lightheartedly joked about how they were used to executing perilous operations by now. Ellet then requested permission to announce the militia's imminent arrival over the radio, to let the people of Randgriz know that they had not been abandoned. Faldio had arrived at Randgriz before the militia, and had silently made his way aboard Marmota. When he heard talk of the Imperial soldiers attaching the Holy Lance to Marmota, Faldio confirmed that he had been right about Maximilian's intentions. He immediately began preparations to stop Maximilian from achieving his objective. Maximilian was forcing his way through the marriage ceremony with Cordelia when Ellet's report reached the ears of the people of Randgriz, announcing the approach of the militia and inspiring hope in the hearts of all Gallians. Borg was still glued to Maximilian's side in an attempt to curry favor with the Empire when Maximilian suddenly ordered Borg's execution. With that matter settled, Maximilian headed for Marmota in order to meet the advancing militia. As Marmota lurched to life once more, the lone spire that had always been referred to as the horn of the unicorn that was Randgriz Castle crumbled to expose the enormous Holy Lance, Valkof, that had been hidden within it for all these years. With the Valkof now securely attached, Marmota's true form was finally revealed. Leaving Randgriz Castle behind, Marmota activated the Valkof as it closed in on the militia. The blue beam launched from the Valkof consumed a nearby village, a portion of the militia's forces, and erased a mountain. This was the might of the Valkyrur Holy Lance, the ultimate weapon used by the Valkyrur to conquer the Darcsens and their lands. Maximilian felt that his victory was guaranteed at this point. Welkin and the other members of the militia could not hide the fear instilled in them by this terrifying weapon, but it was this very monster that the militia would have to defeat at all costs. Topography This map is extremely small, consisting of mainly the Gallian base camp and the Marmota itself. The Gallian base has a number of sandbag barricades and partially destroyed light tanks spread throughout the area, which can help mitigate some of the incoming fire that will be raining down from the Marmota's turrets. The southwest corner of the map is blocked by anti-tank barricades, and is one of the locations where enemies will routinely respawn. In front of the Marmota and the Valkof lance is a large blasted clearing. The Valkof will periodically charge and release a massive blast of energy, destroying literally everything within the clearing in front of it. There are small hills and potholes in the clearing area which you can use to elevate your tank into a position to fire at the Marmota cannons or the Valkof lance, but generally it is not recommended to have anything out in that area. The Marmota can be boarded once a lancer or tank hits the "Damaged Plating." This will create a small walkway for you to gain access to the higher ladders and upper walkways leading to the Marmota's two heatsinks and space to target the Valkof itself. Here are the details on this operation "Your squad thankfully managed to avoid that blast, and is currently stationed at the Marmota's side. We may not be so lucky next time. This maybe our only chance to destroy that beast. It's now or never. Your target is the area along the dreadnought's side that the Valkyria previously damaged. The opposition consists of the cannons mounted on the ship's side the the endless waves of troops from the front hatch. Station teams at the dreadnought's front and side, which will work in tandem to stop the enemy. The ultimate objective here is to destroy that giant lance. That said, it's protected by a shell of light. Nothing we've thrown at it so far has so much as made a dent. Begin by hammering at that damaged plating. We need a point of entry before we can do anything else. I think it's safe to say you face a battle unlike any fought since the dawn of war. I'll trust your judgement out there." Strategy Here, the mission is to destroy the Valkof lance mounted on the Marmota, while dealing with an endless stream of enemy reinforcements and the Marmota's own substantial defences. At the start of the mission, the Valkof is invulnerable and inaccessible; the "Damaged Plating" target needs to be attacked to drop a ramp, and then two Heat Sinks attached to the engines need to be taken out to lower the Valkof's shield. You have five turns to destroy the Valkof in order to net the S / A Rank, and the task can usually be achieved in four. Cordelia Gi Randgriz might help you out by healing your entire squad to full health and refilling their ammunition. Deploy your four best Lancers in the middle of the formation, with two Shocktroopers to the West and Alicia and your best Sniper to the East; the Sniper needs to be Southernmost. Unlike the previous battle, the Marmota isn't just going to ignore you; there are three Gatling Turrets and two Anti-Tank Turrets on the flank facing you. The Gatlings can be safely ignored, but you need to deal with the anti-tank turrets to avoid the destruction of the Edelweiss. At least one of your Lancers should have a Theimer M20R, the more the better; it takes one shot from this, one from the Edelweiss and one regular Lance to defeat each anti-tank turret, or one from the Edelweiss and three regular Lance shots. The latter is hardly ideal. Start by having your Sniper move South and crouch behind the sandbags, then take out the two enemy Lancers. Next, control the Edelweiss and move so that the tank's radiator is backed up against the Northwest tank wreck, then fire a round at each anti-tank turret from the main gun. Next, control the Lancer with the Theimer M20R and put another round into each, then control another Lancer to put a third round into each to destroy them. On the enemy's turn, the Marmota will probably try to fire at Alicia, but she should evade the gatlings. The enemies to the South will annoy your Shocktroopers, and a Lancer will come down Marmota's ramp and attack Edelweiss; if it's correctly positioned, the Lancer will fire one shot at the front, then try to move around the back to attack the inaccessible radiator and end his turn when he can't make the shot. On your next turn, have the Sniper kill the Lancer and the Shocktrooper up on the Marmota's superstructure. Have one of the Lancers fire at the Damaged Plating target to drop a ramp down, and move them towards the ramp. Now, control Alicia and have her climb the ramp and ladders. There's a Shocktrooper waiting up top, so kill him and then attack the East-facing glowing panel of the two Heat Sinks to destroy them. This will lower the shield protecting the Valkof. Use the rest of your CP moving your Lancers up onto the Marmota. The next two turns will basically consist of firing Lance rounds at the Valkof; feel free to take a couple of CP having the Sniper or Shocktroopers fire at the Southern enemies if they become an annoyance. The Valkof has 21,000 HP, corresponding to about 15 Lance rounds with no Potentials or Orders. Only the very tip is vulnerable. It's capable of electrocuting units on the upper catwalk, but this isn't a one-hit kill on Lancers and shouldn't concern you unless you end up taking more than two turns to destroy it. With fully upgraded units/weapons and some luck, it is possible to beat this mission in a single turn. In order to do this, deploy all your CP units, along with Lynn and a Lancer who has the Ultimate Anti-armor potential (Audrey, Elysse, or Jann). First, have your Lancer attack the damaged plating on the Marmota and run up the ramp created by your attack. Next, have Lynn run up the ramp and kill the enemy Shocktrooper waiting there. Afterwards, have Lynn climb up the ladders to the top of the Marmota. The player must then use Lynn to take out the enemy Shocktrooper and the two radiators for the propellors. Luck comes in to play here, as the player requires Lynn's Hard Worker potential to activate so that she can take out the Shocktrooper and two radiators in two turns instead of three. Once these have been destroyed, send your Lancer up and attack the Valkof. With the Ultimate Anti-armor potential and the Theimer M20R, it should take five hits to destroy the Valkof. When accounting for the one CP required to use the Resupply order, the player should have just enough CP to complete the mission on the first turn. Rewards Aftermath By focusing their attacks to the areas that Alicia had damaged during her Valkyrur assault, Squad 7 were able to get aboard Marmota. Princess Cordelia showed up on the battlefield with her personal guards to offer assistance to the militia. The Valkof was protected by an impenetrable sheath of light, but the militia was able to destroy it by first targeting the cooling systems on either side, followed by the power generator. Thus was the ancient weapon of mass destruction cut short before it was able to do too much harm. Notes/Trivia Category:Valkyria Chronicles